AFT 2025 - Could It Be More Changed ?
Just as Nature and Capitalism both abhor a monopoly , so do motorsports race sanctions . Single marque series do have their place , but single marque dominance of what is theoretically designed to be an open-platform , multi-brand race spectacle ? Not so much . It is to be hoped that the changes for 2025 will restore a much needed ' Win on Sunday , sell on Monday ' showcase . The motorcycle market needs to see the manufacturers genuinely duking it out against each other . It has happened to Flat Tracking before of course , with Harley ' s legendary XR- 750 , and , for a while , Honda ' s RS750 was dominant . Harley ' s opportunity followed the 1953 bankruptcy of the original Springfield Indian Motorcycle iteration . Among the matrix of factors that the Flat Track era ended , not least was public boredom with what was still a superb race spectacle , but one that was increasingly remote from the products that consumers wanted to buy on Mondays . The FTR750 was the resurrection , but , even then , AMA Pro Racing couldn ' t square the circle - as evidenced by the schism between race and production engines . The merger of Production Twins and SuperTwins two years ago was really the starting gun for a process that couldn ' t be squished back into its bottle and eternal struggle to sustain , never mind grow new motorcycle sales made the end of race engine involvement inevitable . Indian Motorcycle bowed out at the end of the 2024 season in majestic style , with yet more senior class manufacturer and rider championships . The end of an era received a very classy response from Gary Gray , Indian Motorcycle Racing ' s Vice President of Racing , Technology & Service . He embraced the achievements without rancour , and well he might because the change to productionbased engines prevents their primary rival from filling the void - at this time at any rate - thus concluding the task that Indian had set itself . So , with KTM , Yamaha , Honda and even Royal Enfield starting to score wins and podiums in the past 24 months , the opportunity now exists for at least 11 other manufacturers to submit engines for homologation approval , if they so wish . That is without seeing what impact KTM ' s current financial woes has on their recent success . There is also the likelihood that the series changes could have an impact
THE PROVISIONAL 2025 PROGRESSIVE AMERICAN FLAT TRACK SCHEDULE FOLLOWS :
March 6 , 2025
March 7 , 2025
March 29 , 2025 April 26 , 2025 May 3 , 2025 June 7 , 2025 June 27 , 2025 June 28 , 2025 July 5 , 2025 August 4 , 2025 August 5 , 2025 August 10 , 2025 August 16 , 2025 August 30 , 2025 August 31 , 2025 September 13 , 2025
on the enthusiasm that the Chinese manufacturers might have for the thrill race . As has been seen elsewhere within sport , such as in Olympic Sports especially , there is more to the Chinese competitive spirit than just table tennis and Mahjong . After all , they currently own the Black Belt in throwing money at things . The changes don ' t stop at the engines though . The 16-round schedule for the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season promises " an exciting new era with a fresh , all-production ruleset and
Kody Kopp and Jared Mees
DAYTONA Short Track I , Daytona International Speedway , Daytona Beach , FL DAYTONA Short Track II , Daytona International Speedway , Daytona Beach , FL Senoia Short Track , Senoia Raceway , Senoia , GA Ventura Short Track , Ventura Raceway , Ventura , CA Silver Dollar Short Track , Silver Dollar Speedway , Chico , CA TBA Lima Half-Mile I , Allen County Fairgrounds , Lima , OH Lima Half-Mile II , Allen County Fairgrounds , Lima , OH DuQuoin Mile , DuQuoin State Fairgrounds , DuQuoin , IL Jackpine Gypsies Short Track I , Sturgis , SD Jackpine Gypsies Short Track II , Sturgis , SD Sturgis TT , Streets of Downtown Sturgis , SD Peoria TT , Peoria Motorcycle Club , Peoria , IL Springfield Mile I , Illinois State Fairgrounds , Springfield , IL Springfield Mile II , Illinois State Fairgrounds , Springfield , IL Lake Ozark Short Track , Lake Ozark Speedway , Eldon , MO
the # 1 plate up for grabs following Jared Mees ' retirement ." Yes , that ' s right . Let us not forget that the G . O . A . T . has eaten his last grass , in AFT terms at least . The New Era " Battle of The Brands " will open with " five consecutive barbanging Short Tracks , starting with the series ' traditional Daytona Beach double opener during the 84th annual Daytona Bike Week . The schedule then transitions to a run through the Midwest , including a doubleheader in Lima , Ohio , and a high-speed
showdown at the " Magic Mile " in DuQuoin , Illinois . " The Sturgis TT will serve as a highlight of the schedule again in ' 25 , and this time around it will be joined by an allnew doubleheader - the Jackpine Gypsies Short Track I & II - which will also take place in Sturgis during the 85th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally , just days ahead of Sunday ' s TT ." After a Triumph Tiger dominated down-town Sturgis TT debut in 2024 , the AFT AdventureTrackers return with an expanded schedule - featuring in all three ( yes , three ) Sturgis events , along with the Peoria TT . " The upcoming season will feature further innovation via the introduction of the Triple Challenge format that will be utilized at the Lima Half-Mile I , Jackpine Gypsies Short Track I and Springfield Mile I , in which the overall winner and final points payout will be determined by three races of increasing distance and importance ." This first iteration of what could be termed a ' Trifecta ' is a tad clumsy in its formula , but idea is robust . Expect it to be retained and refined in future years as AMA Pro Racing appears to have ( quite rightly ) realised that the existing pre- ' Main ' structure needed to be improved . It needed to be streamlined . It needed to be a better incentivized and integrated qualification process , and it needed to be able to better sustain spectator interest . " Adding to the excitement along the way will be the inclusion of Royal Enfield ' s ' Build . Train . Race .' program at select events ." Hurrah and further Kudos to the Indian Manufacturer for keeping the faith . As single marque race formulas go , ' BTR ' is a positively forward-facing doozy . www . americanflattrack . com
Now the FTR750 ( and Jared ' The G . O . A . T .' Mees ) has been retired from active service , it now qualifies for that favorite epithet of being the ' Venerable ' FTR750 - having saved and reinvented American Flat Track Racing - so long and thanks for all the wins !
20 AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JANUARY 2025 www . AMDmag . com